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I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 



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^pMTEJ) STATES OF AMElilCA.I 



SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL. 



A LETTER 



TO THE 

RIGHT HON. EARL BATHURST, 
LORD GODERICH, 

AND THE RIGHT REV. 

THE LORD BISHOP OF LONDON; 

IN REFUTATION 

OF SOME OF THE GROSS MISSTATEMENTS CONTAINED IN THE NEWSPAPER 
REPORTS OF THEIR SPEECHES IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, 

ON THE MOTION OF THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD KING, 

" FOR A COMMITTEE TO BE APPOINTED, TO INQUIRE INTO THE EXPEN- 
DITURE OF THE PUBLIC MONEY, GRANTED TO THE SOCIETY FOR 
THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL IN FOREIGN PARTS, IN 
HIS majesty's COLONIES OF NORTH AMERICA." 



BY THE 

REV. CORNELIUS GRIFFIN, 

Late a Missionary of the Society, and successively Rector of St. George's Parish, Prince Edward 

Island, and of Grand Manan, P)-ovince of New Brunswick, and one 

of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace. 



" There is less real religion in those parts of America where the Society's money has been 
expended, than there would have been had it been sunk in the ocean." Dr. Mayhew. 



LONDON : 

EFFINGHAM WILSON, 88, ROYAL EXCHANGE. 



(^\^ 

#0,*^ 



LONDON : 

Piinted by Anne Maurice, Fenchurch street. 



Tbe Library 

Or CONHKESS 
WASHINGTON 



A LETTER, 

Src. 



VERITAS ODIUM PARTT. 



London, 1st April, 1828. 
My Lords, 

I beg leave most respectfully to obtrude 
upon your attention a few remarks, in refutation of 
the gross misstatements attributed to your Lord- 
ships by the public papers, in your speeches in the 
House of Lords, in defence of the proceedings of the 
Society for the propagation of the Gospel in Foreign 
Parts, both as it regards the state of religion in the 
Colonies, and my conduct as a Missionary of the 
said Society. 

My Lord Bathurst will be pleased to recollect, 
that, in May last, he stated in the same House of 
Lords, *' That it was desirable that persons should 
not be deprived of their situations, by any ani- 
mosity that persons in the Colonies might entertain 
against them ; because the state of society of per- 
sons in those places was such, that it was impos- 
sible to form any connection that did not expose in- 

B 



dividuals to public or pinvate animosity,^' After 
such a declaration from a Nobleman, who so long 
held the important situation of Principal Secretary 
of State for the Colonial department, it is surpri- 
sing that your Lordships should rest your defence 
of the Society, and their American agents, and at- 
tempt to malign my character, on the evidently self- 
interested representations of persons in the Colonies* 
with whom, according to the solemn declaration of 
Earl Bathurst, "it is impossible to reside, without 
being ea^posed to public or private animosity'^ 

The contracted limits of a letter will not suffer me 
to enter at large fnto a refutation of all the errors 
and mis-statements, every where so luxuriantly 
abundant in the speeches attributed to your Lord- 
ships on that memorable night : suffice it then, for 
the present, to select two or three instances of in- 
accuracy, (not to mention them by a harsher word,) 
from that immense mass of misrepresentation, in 
order to enable the enlightened and virtuous British 
Public to form a just estimate of the quality and 
consistency of the whole. 

My Lords Bathurst and Goderich did me the in- 
justice to say, that " I am a man of such irritability 
of temper, that no one could agree with me, and 
that I got into hot water wherever I went." Your 
Lordships know full well, that the Society, on ap- 
pointing me a Missionary at Prince Edward Island, 
placed me at the absolute disposal of Lieut. Governor 
Smith, who had been for many years at open war 
with the inhabitants ; and was finally removed from 



3 

that Government, on the petition to His Majesty in 
1 824.* The Lieut. Governor, on my arrival, declared, 
that it was his misfortune to govern a most factious 
and rebellious set of people, and desired me not to 
associate with any of his opposers, under pain of 
his highest displeasure ; and, in particular, to be- 
ware of the Rev. Mr. Desbrisay, the chief of the 
faction. He directed me to officiate once every 
Sunday in Mr. Desbrisay 's church, (the only 
church on the Island,) because Mr. D. had refused to 
perform two services ; that, in consequence of his re- 
fusal, the pulpit was occupied by Mr. Desbrisay 's 
sons, as methodist preachers, and other dissenting 
ministers. This very naturally excited the clamour 
of the Lieut. Governor's opponents against me. 

As the Colonies are considered as a part and par- 
cel of the dominions of the King of Great Britain, I 



* The following are some of the charges against the Governor^ — 
" That he sent his son-in-law, Mr. Carmichael, into the House of 
Assembly, where the representatives were sitting —who addressed 
the speaker loudly — " Mr. Speaker y if you sit in that chair one 
minute longer, as speaker, the house shall he dissolved" at the same 
time shaking his fist at the Speaker. 

** That the Governor's son, Henry, was, during the sitting of the 
Assembly, detected and proved to have broken the windows of the 
apartment in which the House of Representatives were assembled 
and engaged in the public business." 

When the Governor was removed from his office on the com- 
plaints of the people, his son, Henry, who broke the windows, 
then about 23 years of age, was appointed comptroller of the 
customs at St. John's, New Brunswick, then about f 1500-r-and 
now a stated salary of £1000 sterling per annum. 



expected to be received as a fellow subject ; and, 
though removed from my native land, I trusted that 
I should not be removed beyond the sphere of His 
Majesty's paternal care and protection. On my ar- 
rival, however, I found myself treated as a foreigner 
and an intruder ; and one reason among many others 
why I was so treated, was, that the Rev. Mr. Jenkins, 
a protege of Bishop Inglis, intended to come over to 
marry one of the Rev. Mr. Desbrisay's daughters, 
and reside there in my stead. By the contrivances 
of this confederacy, I received directions from the 
Society to obey the commands of Lieutenant Go- 
vernor Smith to build a house in an uninhabited 
forest, consisting of about 130,000 acres. This was 
done, as the sequel will shew, to induce me to re- 
sign my situation,* to create a vacancy for thispro- 
tege of Dr. Inglis, whom the Society had appointed 
assistant missionary at Quebec, but he refused to 
go to that place. 

I applied to Earl Bathurst for the common grant 
of 200 acres of wilderness land in this immense fo- 
rest : this was denied me : — Earl Bathurst would al- 
low me only *' a sufficient space, whereon to build the 
house" not more than one-third part of an acre ; for 
which I was to pay a fee of three guineas ; while it 
is the custom to grant 20,000 acres of such land to 



* In a conversation with the Rev. Mr. Hamilton, Secretary of the 
Society, since my return to England, he told me I had no claim for 
remuneration for the expenses of building and various removals, be- 
cause I could have avoided them, by resignation. 



5 

natives of Colonies for about 20 guineas fees.* 
Contrary to expectation, I did build the house 
at my own expense, although subject to a thou- 

* People from the mother country in general find it exceedingly 
diflficult to obtain a grant of the smallest quantity of land, while 
grants of 20,000, 30,000, to 100,000 acres are lavishingly bestowed 
on the natives of Colonies. These persons write pamphlets, and 
send home puffs for the newspapers ** of the vast importance of the 
Colonies of the Mother Country, and of the rare quality of their 
lands, which, say they, * produce crops, without labour,' and the 
poorest families sit down to a roast pig, wild ducks, and salmon 
every dai/.^' 

Mr. Wilmot Horton's project is certainly a fine one — for the Eng- 
lish to mortgage their lands, to export the surplus population of 
the mother country for the benefit of Colonists. Who were the 
witnesses, before the Emigration Committee, in favour of sending the 
Poor out of the land at the expense of the English ? Why — Grantees, 
who have land to sell. 

The Colonists threaten to send home all emigrants who come from 
the mother country without plenty of money in their pockets, — 
" This, say they, would be a practicable, undeniable exhibition of 
our sentiments. It will sound from one end of Great Britain to the 
other, like the watchword in feudal times, and will have more effect 
than a thousand remonstrances." — Vide Nova Scotian, 30th August, 
1827. 

The following insulting paragraph from a Jamaica paper was co- 
pied into all the Colonial papers. — " The Black Slaves in the Colo- 
nies are forming subscriptions for the relief of their famishing bre- 
thren the white slaves, in England !" 

The author of the Naval Sketch Book has this remark, — " It is 
ludicrous to observe how, in the opinion of Colonists, the mother 
country already begins to retrograde in civihzation. It is not un- 
usual with the Supreme Judges to condemn Paddies, in heinous 
cases, to a re-transportation to their native shore. Alas ! poor Ire- 
land !" 



6 

sand inconveniences in a colony where I was treated 
as a foreigner. Disappointed hopes induced this con- 
federacy to forward numerous complaints against me 
to the Society, of the nature of which I am ignorant, 
as I have never been favored with copies of them, 
notwithstanding my repeated applications. The 
secretary of the Society once wrote to Lieutenant 
Governor Smith, to make inquiries concerning them, 
or some of them, who replied, " that the com- 
plaints against me were totally unfounded; that, if it 
had been otherwise, he should certainly have been 
the first to complain; and concluded by desiring 
the Society not to attend to complaints from the 
same quarter." Notwithstanding this representa- 
tion in my favor from the Governor of the Colony, 
at whose disposal I had been placed by the Society, 
the Society sent me a letter, dated 3rd May, 1823, 
accusing me *' of demanding money from another mis- 
sionaryT I again and again stated to the Society 
that I had never demanded any money, and prayed 
to be made acquainted with the names of my accu- 
sers, or that they be required to exhibit proofs in 
support of their charges, and that I may be heard in 
my defence.* The Society never favored me with one 
word in reply on this subject. — In their next letter, 
they ordered me to abandon the house I had built, 
and to remove to Grand Manan, 800 miles distant 



* Since my arrival in England, I have made applications to the 
same effect; but the Society refuse to hear me, or to give me any an- 
swer on the subject, — excepting, that their will is a law. 



from Prince Edward Island; and the Rev. Mr. Jen- 
kins was suffered to remain in my stead, with the 
wife he had married, and to enjoy his salary without 
a congregation. 

Earl Bathurst states, " that, soon after my ap- 
pointment by the Society to another situation, 
(Grand Manan,) I wrote a violent letter, charging a 
Mr. Ross with having been a party in a riot. In 
consequence of this, an ex-officio information was 
filed against him (Ross) by his Majesty's Attorney 
General ; and, when the time came for the complain- 
ant (the Rev. Mr. Griffin) to make his charges good, 
he found himself obliged to withdraw them." Now, 
this is, in toto, a most egregious mistake, or positively 
saying the thing which is not. To make this matter 
clear, it is necessary to premise, that, in the Report 
of the Society for 1824, p. 123, it is recorded, "that 
the church of Grand Manan is now finished, and that 
Mr. Alley had drawn on the vSociety for their grant 
in aid of that church, and that he had also built a 
new ^6'^oo/-house." 

The Society, in their letter commanding me to 
remove to Grand Manan, also directed me to write 
to the Rev. Mr. Willis, Ecclesiastical Commissary, 
for instructions, previous to my departure from 
Prince Edward Island. I did so. The Ecclesiastical 
Commissary replied, " that he knew nothing of 
Grand Manan, and, of course, could not give me 
any instructions." The Society then directed me to 
proceed to Grand Manan forthwith, and attend to 
the instructions of the Ecclesiastical Commissary." 



8 

I wrote again to the Ecclesiastical Commissary, who 
replied as before, *' he could not give me any in- 
structions ; but, that if I chose to go to that place, 
a Mr. Ross would provide a house, and that, by the 
law of the Province, I should be the rector of the 
parish, and the presiding branch of the Church 
Corporation." 

The Society again commanded me to *' go to 
Grand Manan, and reside in the house of Mr. Ross, 
and attend to the instructions of the Ecclesiastical 
Commissary." 

When 1 arrived at Grand Manan, I found the 
church a mere shell of rough boards, unfit for service, 
and that there was no new school-house, and that the 
aforesaid Mr. Ross, who was master of a fishing 
schooner, and a smuggler, and a person who could 
scarcely write his name, would not suffer me to 
reside in his house, and prohibited my solemnizing 
marriages, alleging that it was his duty as a magis- 
trate. 

The people of the parish informed me, that the 
church had been got into its present state by the 
contrivances of Ross and Alley, for their own advan- 
tage, the Society allowing additional salaries to 
those missionaries who report they have procured 
the erection of a church. Mr. Alley, who is a mis- 
sionary and a military chaplain at St. Andrew's, 
came to the island about four years before, with a 
memorial to the Society, ready cut and dried, stating, 
that the inhabitants were anxious to build a church, 
and prayed the Society to grant them money for 



9 

that purpose. Mr. Alley also told them it was ne- 
cessary, as a proof of their earnestness in the cause, 
to sign their names to it, with subscriptions, he as- 
suring them, at the same time, they would not be 
compelled to pay. Ross, and three or four of his 
associates, put down their names, with figures, indi- 
cating £10 to each, which they have not paid to this 
day. Mr. Alley then appointed Mr. Ross, and his 
fellows, church trustees, until a lawful church com- 
poration could be formed, by the appointment of a 
rector; with an understanding, that Mr. Alley 
would once a year, in the summer season, visit the 
Island with his family, and reside in Mr. Ross's 
house, for the benefit of sea bathing ; that Mr. Ross 
should finger the grant, carry the money bag, and 
be created a magistrate to solemnize marriages. 

I communicated an account of the unfinished state 
of the church, and that there was no house to reside 
in, to the Ecclesiastical Commissary, who said, 
** that as he knew nothing of Grand Manan,* he 
could give me no instructions ; he left me to judge 
and act for myself; — he supposed I must either build 
a house, or take upon myself the responsibility of 
residing elsewhere : he also told me, by way of 

* One of the duties of an Ecclesiastical Commissary is to visit 
and to inquire into the actual state of every mission and parish in 
his district. No bishop, no archdeacon, or ecclesiastical commis- 
sary, has ever visited Grand Manan, or that part of Prince Edward 
Island, viz. the uninhabited forest, in which I was ordered by the 
Lieutenant Governor and the Society to build a house at my own 
expense. 

c 



10 

caution, that I should burn my fingers if I sent un- 
favorable reports to the Society." 

I was then obliged to repair a ruined house about 
twenty feet square, containing two rooms only, at 
my owa expense, as a temporary residence. And I 
officiated in the unfinished church, whenever the 
state of the weather would permit, and at other 
times in private houses, much to the satisfaction of 
the great body of the people, who attended in 
crowds to hear me. 

I wrote an account of the unfinished state of the 
church to the Society, and to Bishop Inglis, and to 
Bishop Stanser, two Bishops of Nova Scotia, both 
at that time residing in England with their respec- 
tive families. I never received any answers ; but I 
soon found that I had burnt my fingers by telling 
the truth ; for Bishop Inglis told a Mr. Zalmon 
Wheeler, of St. John's, then in England, *'that he 
should soon get rid of me,'' 

The success of my ministerial labors inflamed the 
malice of Ross and Alley against me, inasmuch as it 
deprived one of the benefit of marriages, in his capa- 
city of magistrate, in the absence of a clergyman ; 
and the other, of his hopes of additional salary, as 
an occasional visiting missionary. 

The people also informed me that the church had 
remained in its present disgracefully unfinished state, 
not equal in value to one quarter of the grants from 
government and the Society, for two years before my 
arrival ; that when they heard of my coming, they 
requested Ross either to finish the church, or let 



11 

them do it. He would not suffer them to interfere, 
saying he did not wish a Church-of-England minis- 
ter to reside on the Island. 

The great body of the people then resolved, now, 
that they were enabled, by the residence of a rector, 
to complete the church corporation, to maintain their 
just rights, and, on the next Easter Monday then en- 
suing, to elect to the offices of churchwardens and 
vestry-men, persons who were really and truly well 
affected towards the church. 

When Mr. Ross understood the resolves of the 
people, he threatened his vengeance as a magistrate, 
on all who opposed his election to the office of 
churchwarden, and declared that his accounts should 
never be exhibited ; and that Mr. Griffin was an im- 
postor, and no minister, whom the Ecclesiastical 
Commissaries had told him the Bishop intended to 
get rid of. 

Mr. Ross went to St. Andrew's, to consult the Re- 
verend Mr. Alley and the Reverend Mr. Best, the 
latter a son-in-law of Bishop Stanser, and a connec- 
tion by intermarriages with this Ross. On his 
return to the Island he renewed his threats of ven- 
geance, with the addition of those from Mr. Alley 
and Mr. Best: he brought to the Island several 
newspapers, containing accounts of the refusal of the 
people of Halifax, Nova Scotia, to admit the Rever- 
end Mr. Willis, Ecclesiatical Commissary of New 
Brunswick, into their church. These papers were 
brought over, avowedly with intention to incite the 



12 

people of Grand Manan to follow the example of 
Halifax, and choose their own minister. 

Information reaching me, that quantities of rum 
were promised by Ross, to all who would assist 
him in making an uproar, to secure his election on 
Easter Monday, with a double portion of the same 
inspiring spirit, in case of his success, I, with a 
view to disarm violence, gave notice that I would 
perform divine service, and preach a sermon in the 
unfinished church, (for the first time since the win- 
ter,) previous to the election business. 

On the day of election, in my way to the church, 
I passed the house of John Inglis, a carpenter, a 
fisherman, a church trustee, and a dealer in rum 
without a licence. A number of drunken fellows 
rushed out of the house, exclaiming, ''Mr. Best — 
hiccup — will take — hiccup — away your gownd — hic- 
cup — Mr. Alley is the head of the church — hiccup 
— I guess we shall do for you ;" with many profane 
expressions unnecessary to relate. 

At the conclusion of the sermon, Mr. Ross, at the 
head of the drunkards, rushed into the church, and 
during the time of prayer, at the end, one Burke, a 
constable appointed by Ross, held up his fist in a 
threatening manner, and said '' Damn you, I wish I 
had hold of you J' This was the signal for a general 
uproar. Ross suddenly sprang into the sort of read- 
ing desk where I then was, pushed me aside, and 
proclaimed himself president of the meeting, as a 
magistrate, churchwarden, and church trustee, by 



13 

the appointment of Mr. Alley ; that Mr. Griffin was 
no minister, he was an impostor, and Mr. Alley was 
the head of that church ; that I should not be suffer- 
ed to speak one word, as I was going to influence 
the people against him. I several times attempted 
to be heard, but was prevented by the loud cursing 
and profane language of the " baser sort," who had 
crowded about me ; these declared, that the King, if 
present, should not speak, or suffer me to speak : 
he should lose his head first. I contrived to evade 
their violence, by escaping from the church, at the 
time Ross was nominating himself and his fellows 
to the offices ofchurchwarden and vestry-men. And, 
notwithstanding the riot act had been read, they 
continued rioting in the church for a long space of 
time, boasting of their victory, and that their ac- 
counts should never be seen. After some time they 
locked up the church, and retired to the house of 
the aforesaid John Inglis, to enjoy the promised por- 
tion of rum, where they continued all night, rioting, 
and dancing, and singing the praises of the Bishop 
John Inglis and his Ecclesiastical Commissaries. 

The peaceably disposed present were ten to one 
in my favor, who would have resisted the violence 
offered me ; but I exhorted them to forbear, and ap- 
peal to the Government for redress. On the next 
day, they joined with me in a petition to the Lieute- 
nant Governor, Sir H. Douglas, praying for redress, 
and thatthe trial of the rioters may take place as soon 
as possible on the Island where the offence was 
perpetrated, to avoid the expense and inconvenience 



m 

of the attendance of so great a number of witnesses 
at the county town of St. Andrew's, fifty miles dis- 
tant from the Island. The petition was accompa- 
nied with numerous affidavits to establish the facts, 
taken before Moses Gerrish, Esq. the oldest inhabi- 
tant of the Island, one of the first settlers, and who 
had been forty years a magistrate, and at that time 
confined to his house by sickness. Sir Howard 
Douglas never returned an answer, and the old 
gentleman's name was shortly after struck out of the 
list of magistrates. 

When the rioters heard of our petition to the 
Lieutenant Governor for redress, Ross went to St. 
Andrew's, where a letter was written to the Rever- 
end Mr. Best, requesting him to remove me from 
the Island : this letter was signed by five persons at 
St. Andrew's, fifty miles from the Island ; and very 
few, if any, on the Island, are to this day acquainted 
with its contents. I wrote a letter to Mr. Best, re- 
questing to be favored with the original letter by 
Ross and Alley, or a copy of it. The following letters 
shortly after arrived on the Island, dated the same 
day. 

" Fredericton, 3rd May, 1825. 

Reverend Sir, 

** You are permitted to repair to St. John's, 
and there await the Society's pleasure. 

''The letter you speak of, as having been sent by 
some of the inhabitants against you, I received this 
morning, concerning which, nothing cati be said at pre- 



15 

sent ; when you come to St. John's, I may have an 
opportunity of seeing you. 

(Signed) ** George Best, 

Acting Ecc^ Comm^" 
To Reverend C. Griffin, 8fc, 

''Frederieton,3rd May, 1825. 

" Gentlemen, 

" In answer to your letter received this morn- 
ing, I have to inform you, that the Reverend Mr. 
Griffin has been authorized to remove from Grand 
Manan, and that immediate steps will be taken to in- 
quire into the late unhappy occurrences in the 
church on that Island. 

(Signed) ** George Best, 

Acting Ecc' CommV* 
To Messrs. Ross, Dog get. Brown, S^c. 

The discovery of Mr. Best's duplicity created great 
alarm at head-quarters. I again wrote for a copy 
of the letter against me ; to which Mr. Best replied, 

" Rev. and Dear Sir, 

** I have to inform you that a criminal infor- 
mation has been laid by his Excellency's orders 
against the offending parties in Grand Manan. The 
whole affair is in the Attorney General's hands, and 
the law must take its course. Had I considered the 
possession of the letter sent to me by Ross and others 
would have been of any service to you, I would have 
sent it. There is nothing in the said letter you need 
be afraid of, or care about. It shall be shewn you 
when I see you here. Your safest way is to keep 
as quiet as possible. I know of no other remedy 



16 

for the disagreeableness you now experience, than 
your removal from the Island." 

On the receipt of the above, I went to Fredericton, 
and requested to see the said letter, when Mr. Best 
replied, '' I have lost it ;'' but report says he had 
sent it to the Society. Mr. Best further said, '' if 
you do not quit the Island immediately, the Gover- 
nor will be angry, and stop the prosecution." In my 
journey to Fredericton, several missionaries and 
others informed me that the ex-officio informations 
would never be tried; besides, it would be useless to 
attempt it, as no jury of Colonists would decide in 
favor of Englishmen, whom they considered as fo- 
reigners. 

On my return to the Island, in order to remove 
my family and effects from it, the rioters boasted 
that the Bishop intended to screen them from a pub- 
lic trial. That the ex-officio information was mere- 
ly di feint to amuse me, until the Bishop could take 
away my salary ; when I mnst be compelled to re- 
turn to England, and, of course, could not appear as 
evidence against them. 

After I had removed to Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, 
I received two letters from the Attorney General of 
New Brunswick, one dated 8th June, 1825, informing 
me '' that ex-officio informations had been filed 
against Ross and five others, for a riot and assault 
upon me in the parish church of Grand Manan, in 
consequence of directions from the Governor, and 
of affidavits establishing the facts, contained in a peti- 
tion from me and others to him." The other, dated 



17 

the 30th July, informed me, " that the trial of the 
rioters would take place at St. Andrew's, (fifty miles 
from the Island,) on the 9th August, 1825; that he 
had forwarded subpoenas for the crown v^itnesses to 
Grand Manan, but he feared they would not reach 
so remote a place in time for the court." 

It must here be noted, that the two letters above- 
mentioned did not reach me by the post till the 11th 
of August, two days after the sitting of the Court. 
I at that time resided one hundred and fifty miles 
by sea and land from St. Andrew's. No direct com- 
munication : consequently, I could not attend. 

A short time after this, I received numerous letters 
from my loving parishioners in Grand Manan, com- 
plaining of the *' laws' delay," and that no subpoenas 
did ever reach the Island for the crown witnesses ; 
and, also, that since my departure, Ross had been 
proclaimed justice of the Quorum, with full power 
to solemnize marriages, 

I then wrote to the Attorney General to renew our 
application to the Governor for the trial of the riot- 
ers to take place on the Island, as a matter of neces- 
sity, he having acknowledged it to be too remote a 
place for subpoenas to reach in time for a Court at 
St. Andrew's. No answer was ever received. 

After the trial had been put off, Mr. Best hearing 
that the people at Bridgetown, where I sojourned, 
intended to petition the Society for my appointment 
to that place, came over to Bridgetown, and ad- 
vised the people not to petition the Society in my 
favor, as the bishop intended to get me dismissed for 

D 



18 

my behaviour in Grand Manan ; he also cautioned 
the traders not to give me cash for my salary bills, 
as, in the event of my dismission, the bills would be 
protested, and they would be defrauded of their 
money. 

When Bishop Inglis returned from England he 
wrote to me, " that the Society intended to stop my 
salary, and advised me to go to England without 
loss of time, as the prosecution against Ross and 
others was stopped; for Mr. Best (whom he had just 
created archdeacon,) had written to him, * that the 
Attorney General had put into his hands certain papers, 
by which it appeared that the charge against the chmxh 
trustees, Ross andothers, was totally unfounded, 
and that the Governor would not admit Mr, Griffin 
again into the province.'' 

I wrote again and again to the Attorney General, 
to be informed whether the prosecution of the riot- 
ers had been abandoned as reported, and requested 
a copy of the papers mentioned by Mr. Best to the 
Bishop. After five month's silence, the Attorney 
General wrote to me, ** that the trial of the rioters 
would take place at St. Andrew's, on the 8th August, 
1826 ; but no notice whatever was taken of my re- 
quest for the papers. 

In June, 1826, 1 received a letter from the Society, 
which had been sent open to the Bishop, informing 
me, ** that my salary would cease on 1st July, 1826 ; 
but, that they did not impute to me any dereliction of 
duty, or immorality of conduct .'' 

After the notice of my dismission had been trans- 



19 

mitted to the Attorney General, he wrote to nie that 
** IF I wished the rioters to be brought to trial, I 
must perform the office of a sheriff in serving the 
subpoenas for the crown witnesses, and procuring 
their attendance at my own cost and trouble ; that 
he should order the subpoenas to be placed with the 
Solicitor General in St. John ;* but that if I refused 
to perform the services he required, he must submit 
the matter to the further consideration of the Lieut. 
Governor, Sir Howard Douglas." 

During my residence in Bridgetown I conducted 
myself, as a clergyman, so very much to the satisfac- 
tion of all classes of people, that they were induced 
to make inquiry into the state of affairs in Grand 
Manan ; and the result proving highly favorable to 
me, they again resolved to solicit my appointment 
to reside among them, and joined in a memorial to 
Bishop Inglis, requesting him *' to recommend to 
the Society my appointment to their church, as they 
were fully persuaded, that the permanent residence 
of the Rev. Mr. Griffin would conduce, with the 
Divine blessing, most effectually to promote the 
laudable designs of the Society, the best interests of 
the church of England, and the advancement of reli- 
gion and virtue^ 

As the Bishop did not then visit Bridgetown, as 
was expected, but went in a king's ship to St. John's, 

* St. John is fifty miles by sea from Bridgetown, and Grand Ma- 
nan sixty miles by sea from St, John ; no regular or direct convey- 
ance to either place. 



20 

New Brunswick ; and as I was then about t6 pro- 
ceed to St. John's for the subpoenas, according to the 
direction of the Attorney General, the people re- 
quested me to present the above named memorial 
to the Bishop. On my arrival at St. John, I obtained 
the subpoenas ; and I found the Bishop and Mr. 
Archdeacon Best preparing for a voyage to St. An- 
drew's, ostensibly for the purpose of consecrating 
an old wooden church, which had been built more 
than forty years, and then going to decay. When I 
presented the petition in my favour to the Bishop, 
he was utterly confounded, and said he could not 
fly in the face of the Society to do any thing in fa- 
vour of a missionary whom they had dismissed. It 
was my lot to go down in the same passage vessel 
to St. Andrew's, where both the Bishop and his Arch- 
deacon vied with each other to treat the dismissed 
missionary with all the insult possible. On passing 
near Grand Manan, I requested the Bishop to land 
on that Island, and make himself acquainted with its 
actual state. — He replied, ** I cannot consecrate an 
unfinished church ; besides, it would be highly im- 
proper to visit that place until after the issue of the 
approaching trial." 

When the Bishop and Archdeacon Best arrived 
at St. Andrew's, they abode in the house of Mr. 
Alley. Mr. Ross was sent for by an express, from 
Grand Manan. Ross visited St Andrew's, and 
quickly returned to the Island, and reported, that 
the Bishop and Mr. Best had procured my dismis- 
sion from the service of the Society ; that Lieut. 



21 

Governor Douglas had prohibited my admission 
again into the Province ; and that I had fled to Bos- 
ton, United States, for fear of punishment; that all 
the crown witnesses would be punished if they at- 
tended the court, or spoke one word in favor of Mr. 
Griffin, and denounced his vengeance on all such, 
by his power as magistrate. 

A few days before the opening of the Court, the 
Bishop left St. Andrew's, and proceeded to Bridge- 
town."^ But Mr. Best remained in that town to 
await the arrival of the Attorney General. On 
whose arrival, the 7th August, the day previous to 
the sitting of the Court, was spent in consultations 
between him, the Rev. Messrs. Best and Alley, and 
other friends of Ross ; the arrival of a cloud of wit- 
nesses from Grand Manan against the rioters, (many 
of them volunteers,) filled the friends of Ross with 



* When the Bishop arrived in Bridgetown in my absence, he 
called about five or six persons together at Foster's Tavern, and 
told them he could not forward their Memorial to the Society in 
my favor, as it would be flying in their faces, and he feared such 
a proceeding would induce the Society to withhold the grant in 
aid of the Bridgetown Church. The people then inquired of him 
why I had been dismissed ? He replied, I do not know the particu- 
lars, but I am well persuaded the Society have decided according 
to justice and the dictates of their consciences. The people then 
told him it was generally believed he intended to place one Wal- 
ker, whom he had just ordained Deacon, into their church; and 
such was the notorious immorality of his character, that the peo- 
ple had resolved to pull the church down the first time he attempt- 
ed to officiate in it. 



22 

confusion and dismay. It was, at length, agreed, 
that Mr. Best should write a letter to the Attorney 
General to induce him again to delay the trial ; to 
deposit the said letter in the hands of the Rev. Mr. 
Alley, to be delivered at a proper opportunity ; and 
Mr. Best to flee from St. Andrew's that very night. 

On the morning of the 8th August, the day ap- 
pointed for opening the Court, the Rev. Mr. Alley 
used much exertion to intimidate the witnesses ; 
the Rev. Dr. Thomson, another missionary, endea- 
voured to incite them to bring charges against my 
moral character — but all in vain. 

The Attorney General, to save appearances, inti- 
mated that the trial would take place on that day. 
I attended with my little army of witnesses ; when, 
behold ! the Rev. Mr. Alley, and Mr. Ross, the 
fisherman, and smuggler, and ringleader of the riot, 
were seated on the bench, by the side of the Judge 
of the supreme court ! The trial was put off till the 
next day. On the morrow, the 9th, all the wit- 
nesses attended as before, and Ross and Alley 
were seated as above, when the rioters put in an 
affidavit to put off the trial on the frivolous pre- 
tence of the absence of two witnesses in their fa- 
vor, whom they stated had promised to attend, but 
they had never been subpoenaed. The Judge said 
to the Attorney General, '' Have you any objec- 
tion ?" — ** Certainly not," was the reply. The Judge 
then said, '' let the trial of so and so come on to-day, 
and the King versus Ross and others to-morrow ; 
and if any thing should happen to that, the next in 



28 

order." — And, truly, according to the Judge's pre- 
sentiment, something, as had been predetermined by 
somebody, did '^happen to that;' for about three 
hours after this transaction, the Attorney General 
informed me that he had just received from the 
hands of Mr. Alley, a letter written by Mr. Arch- 
deacon Best, of which the following is a copy. 

''SL Andrew Sy 7th August, 1826. 

*' I beg leave officially to communicate 
to you that the Rev. Mr. Griffin has not been in the 
service of the Society for the propagation of the 
gospel since the 1st of July last. They consider- 
ing him an ufifit person to be employed, in conse- 
quence of his conduct relative to the affairs at 
Grand Manan ; and that the suit now pending 
against the parishioners* there, must be considered 
as a matter unconnected with the church. 

" I am, &c. 
(Signed) " George Best, 

Archdeacon" 
To His Majesty* s Attorney General. 

The Attorney General was much embarrassed 
when I pointed out the date 7th August, the very 
same day that I discovered him. Archdeacon Best, 
Mr. Alley, and others, at Mrs. Hutchin's, in close 



* Observe — Ross and five others designated by the general term 
the parishioners. 



24 

consultation about the Grand Manan affair. The 
Attorney General protested he knew nothing of the 
letter, and that it was put into his hands but a very 
few minutes ago, by the Rev. Mr. Alley. He then 
affected to lament, that he had consented to let the 
trial be put off on that affidavit; for if the trial had 
but commenced, before he received the letter, he 
would have gone through with it, but now he felt 
that he must defer the trial until after he could con- 
sult the Lieut. Governor on the subject. He for 
some time refused to give me a copy of Mr. Best's 
letter, and wished me to be content with verbal 
communications. After much hesitation he wrote 
as follows : — 

'• St. Andrew's, 9th August, 1826. 

" Reverend Sir, 

*' Having, since I left the Court this morn- 
ing, received an official letter from the Archdea- 
con, of which the annexed is a copy, (see above) 
I shall deem it expedient to defer the trial of the 
ex-officio information against Ross and others, un- 
til after my return to the seat of Government. 

(Signed) '* Thomas Wetmore, 

Attorney General.'^ 
Rev. C. Griffin. 

Notwithstanding this defeat, I resolved to remain 
another year in the Colony, although deprived of 
my salary, and depending on my private resources : 
during that time, I addressed memorials, praying for 



25 

justice, to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, 
the Bishops of London and Ely, ex-officio members 
of the Society, and to the Principal Secretaries of 
State. The Archbishop of Canterbury retained my 
papers, but never favored me with an answer : 
but the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of London 
and Ely, returned my papers to me through the post- 
office, thereby putting me to a charge of six pounds 
(postage) for praying for justice,* after I had, on e>v- 
parte statements, been deprived of my salary in a 
foreign land. The following is a communication from 
Earl Bathurst : 

« Downing Street, I5th Nov. 1826. 
'*SlR, 

** I am directed by Lord Bathurst to acknow- 
ledge the receipt of two Memorials addressed by 
you to Mr. Secretary Canning, to acquaint you, that, 
having communicated on the subject of them with 
the Society for the propagation of the Gospel, it is 
not in his Lordship's power to interfere with the de- 
cision of the Society ; and he has reason to believe 
that your case has been dull/ and impartially/ consi- 
dered. 

(Signed,) **Wilmot Horton." 

Rev. C. Griffin f 

Bridgetown, Nova Scotia. 

* All my Memorials were accompanied with affidavits to establish 
the facts complained of, both as it relates to " the perversion of jus- 
tice in the Province," and to the mismanagement of the funds of 
the Society, for the propagation of the gospel. I afterwards em- 
braced an opportunity, by means of a friend, of reconveying the re- 

E 



26 

In the interval between August, 1826 and 1827, 
I repeatedly requested the Attorney General of New 
Brunswick to make me acquainted with the result 
of his communication with the Lieutenant Governor, 
on the subject of Archdeacon Best's letter of 7th 
of August, 1826, and whether the trial of the rioters 
was abandoned, as again reported. I did not re- 
ceive any answer until after the sitting of the Court 
in August, 1827, when he wrote as follows: '*The 
ex-officio prosecution remains in statu quo. The 
Archdeacon's letter, and the circumstances therein 
stated, ought to be an obstacle to the further pro- 
secution of it on the part of Government. I can- 
not move further in the business without the express 
order of the Lieutenant Governor, or unless you 
can prevail with the Bishop to direct the Archdea- 
con's letter to be withdrawn." 

So much, my Lords, in refutation of Earl Bathurst's 
assertion, ** That when the time came for the complain- 
ant (M7\ Griffin) to make his charges good, he found 
himself obliged to withdraw them" 

Another instance of the inaccuracy of Earl Ba- 
thurst's statements appears in the case of the Rev. 
Mr. Jenkins, who, he affirms, *'was appointed a 
missionary to Quebec ; but not finding that place 
agree with his health he went to reside in Prince 
Edward Island." Now, the truth of the case is 

returned letters to the venerable Prelates to whom they had been 
addressed j and they have long been in possession of all the facts 
here referred to, with affidavits to establish them. 



27 

this: Mr. Jenkins was ordained a deacon in Eng- 
land for the office of assistant missionary, (another 
name for a curate to an Archdeacon) at Quebec, 
whither he was was sent : but, instead of going to 
Quebec, a place he had never seen, he came direct to 
Prince Edward Island, to marry one of the Rev. 
Mr. Desbrisay's daughters, and resolved to remain 
on it, and threatened to ruin me if I did not go to 
Quebec, in his stead ; he having the patronage of 
Bishop Inglis, the American confidential agent of 
the Society, the avowed patron of the native in- 
terest of Colonies, and the bitter enemy of English- 
men who have not married into American families- 
The noble Earl also states ''that I had been mis- 
sionary five or six years, and during that period I 
had been silent ; but, the moment I was dismissed, I 
complained of abuses." This is mistaking the case 
with a vengeance. I refer your Lordships to the 
Secretary of the Society for my reports, and I will 
cite one instance among many. I arrived in Prince 
Edward Island, 15th of May, 1820; and in my letter 
to the Society, dated 4th of November, same year, 
I stated that from the disputes between the Go- 
vernor and the people, and the consequent disor- 
ganized state of affairs, (and you well know, my 
noble Lords, of what nature those disputes were, 
and that I had nothing to do with them,) and from 
other causes, I did not think it would answer the 
benevolent designs of the Society to maintain a 
missionary on the Island." And I beg leave to 
state, that, at that period, my opinion of the So- 



28 

ciety was the best that could possibly have been en- 
tertained. 

I beg leave also to call your Lordships' attention 
to the following extract of a letter from Bishop In- 
glis, dated 12th of December, 1825, soon after his 
return from England, with all his episcopal " honors 
thick about him." *' The information which you 
forwarded to the Society respecting Grand Manan 
was altogether of so extraordinary a nature, that the 
Society did not authorize me to place you in any of 
their missions, and I should much doubt whether 
you will be permitted to draw upon them for your 
salary, after the end of the present year. Indeed, I 
should be under some apprehension for any bills 
you may now draw. If you think you can explain 
all that has passed to the satisfaction of the Society, 
I should recommend your going to England without 
loss of time : your situation here is that of a clergy- 
man without employment, and, of course, you will 
very soon be, if you are not already so considered, 
without salary ; and I have no instructions to em- 
ploy you. If you determine to go to England with- 
out loss of time, I will request the Society to conti- 
nue your salary until you can have an opportunity 
of appearing before them." 

Be pleased to note this letter was dated the 12th 
of December, 1825, and my dismission was dated 
the 4th of April, 1826. It is clear, from this letter, 
that I had given information which had displeased 
the Society : — and what was this strange informa- 
tion ? I reported the church at Grand Manan was 



29 

NOT finished; and that there was no 7iew school 
house. If you turn to the Society's prmted Report 
for 1824, p. 123, you will read, "■ The church of 
Grand Manan is nowfnished, and a new school house 
is erected.'" I told the truth : the Society, according 
to Bishop Inglis and his Archdeacons, do not like to 
hear the truth, and I was punished with loss of sa- 
lary ! 

I have already exceeded the limits I prescribed 
myself at the commencement of this Letter; it would 
fill volumes to point out, and refute, the countless 
errors and misrepresentations contained in the re- 
port of your Lordships' speeches. You have never 
been in America, — you spoke from report alone, 
and are excusable only because you did not know 
whether you were right or wrong. 

I cannot, however, omit to notice the use which 
the Noble Earl is reported to have made of my 
letter to the Right Hon. William Huskisson, by 
representing that which was written to me, as that 
which cdiUie from me, and then, with exultation ex- 
claiming, ** this is a damning proof oi my irritability 
of temper, and of the inaccuracy of what I had 
asserted." All this heat and vehemence, displayed 
in attempts to prove that an injured person has 
sometimes felt intensely, and that he has sometimes 
spoken as he felt on the wrongs and injuries that 
have *' without a cause'' been heaped upon him ; 
Shakspeare has justly observed, that, 

" We cannot weigh our brother with ourself ; 
Great men may jest with saints ; 'tis wit in them : 



30 

But, in the less, foul profanation. 

That in the captain's but a choleric word, 

Which in the soldier is flat blasphemy." 

The letter to which I allude, and from which I 
extracted so copiously, for the information of Mr. 
Secretary Huskisson, was from a venerable and 
learned gentleman, eighty-six years of age, one of 
the oldest settlers, and had been more than forty 
years a magistrate, and from which I now beg leave 
to extract more copiously. 

"It is with deep regret (says he) I inform you 
that you may remonstrate, you may write, publish, 
protest, plead, petition, pray, and preach. All, all, 
will be unavailing ; your action of riot will never be 
tried in this county, or in this province : the os- 
tensible reason assigned for discontinuing this action 
is, that when the king commenced the suit, it was 
upon the complaint of the rector of Grand Manan ; 
that, now, no such person exists ; therefore, it would 
be preposterous to pursue an action to trial and 
judgment, upon the complaint of a person who is 
defunct, as rector. This reminds me of Dr. Johnson's 
description of fallacious reasoning : 

" A man that cries turnips 
Cries not at the death of his father ; 
It is a sign, that he had rather 
Have a turnip than his father." 

** It is the general opinion of all classes of people, 
that the disturbance you have complained of was a 



31 

high-handed, scandalous, sacrilegious riot; yet you 
meet with a formidable opposition in your endea- 
vours to bring the rioters to a trial. The laws of 
England are a stupendous fabric of human wisdom ; 
but the administration of them is sometimes defec- 
tive, especially in these colonies ; for instance, our 
Governor has appointed William Ross, (a man who 
can scarcely read or write) a justice of the quorum ; 
against whom, at the same time, an information of 
an atrocious riot was filed, and ready to be proceeded 
upon, with a cloud of witnesses in positive proof of 
the fact. Hear, Old England, and be astonished ! 
This promotion of Ross alone fully convinces me 
that it never was the intention of our rulers that the 
rioters should be brought to trial : I suspect you 
have been treated with duplicity from the begin- 
ning ; in short, the circumstances attending your 
case appear to be enigmatical : your character is not 
impeached, no crime has been exhibited against you, 
nor are you charged with any immorality ; you are 
deprived of your salary, turned out of your church 
by a drunken mob, reduced to the condition of an 
outlawed and excommunicated person, and the per- 
petrators and the abettors of the atrocious riot are 
instantly promoted ! Hear, Old England, and be as- 
tonished ! 

" Archdeacon Best early treated you disrespect- 
fully, by giving Craig, the schoolmaster, a certificate 
to receive his salary from the Society, after you had 



32 

refused him one on account of his drunkenness and 
other misdemeanors.* 

*' Under all your sufferings and persecutions for 
the truth and support of the established church, 
it must be some consolation to you to learn that 
the most respectable inhabitants of Grand Manan 
have resolved to send you a gold medal, as a to- 
ken of their respect, esteem, and gratitude, for your 
pious exertions, while you resided among them ; 
and the most sincere regard and cordial affection 
with which this present is accompanied, must com- 
pensate for the smallness of the value of it, and they 
sincerely regret their inability to make you a pre- 
sent adequate to your merit." 

Another worthy and respectable inhabitant of 
Grand Manan writes to me thus. 

" I could never believe that a blessing would 
ever attend a church where there is so muck iniqui- 
ty hid under the cloke of religion in managing it, 
though I believe now that good will come out of 
evil. It brings to my mind the good that hap- 
pened to Israel by that wicked and malicious act 
of Joseph's brethren selling him into Egypt. I be- 

* A part of Craig's duty was to act as clerk to the church. On 
a Sunday, not being in his place, he was sent for, and found drunk 
at the unlicensed tavern, kept by John Inglis, a church trustee. A 
bantling was sworn to him by one of his female pupils, yet he 
continues to receive his salary from " the Society for the propa- 
gation of the Gospel." 



33 

lieve there was a hand of Providence in sending 
you to this remote island, and that God has seen 
the afflictions of his people, and has come down to 
deliver them by your hand ; therefore, your suf- 
fering abuse is not all lost, for I believe the parish 
will reap benefit by reason of it, by the philanthro- 
py that appears in your disposition, and every 
step of your conduct since you have been on the 
Island ; that you will elucidate the truth for the 
benefit of the suffering and afflicted inhabitants of 
Grand Manan ; and I trust the Government will 
support you as rector of it, while you conduct the 
duties of your office with that wisdom, and pru- 
dence, and truly Christian temper you have exhi- 
bited since you have been on the Island." 

In my petition, I stated it to be my opinion, that 
the venerable prelates are imposed upon by the 
artifices of the interested Americans. The Bishop 
of London, however, will not allow that they are 
imposed on ; and, though he has never been in Ame- 
rica, and can speak from report alone, positively 
declares that ** my petition is full of errors and mis- 
representations." You have, my Lord, I fear, taken 
upon your shoulders a weightier burthen than you 
will be able to bear ; but, as you have, voluntarily, 
taken upon yourself this responsibility, I most re- 
spectfully call upon your Lordship to disprove one 
single fact, if you are able to do so. Bear in mind, 
my Lord, that the eyes of the whole British public 
are upon you; the allegations must be met, allow- 
ed, or disproved. If you allow my allegations to 



34 

be true, you nullify your statement as reported in 
the House of Lords, that my petition is full of " er- 
rors and misrepresentations." If you attempt to 
disprove my allegations, an insurmountable bar- 
rier stops your progress ; for they are already all 
self-proved by a comparison of one report with ano- 
ther. Therefore, to disprove my affirmations, you 
must necessarily invalidate those *' Authentic 
Details of the nature and extent of the Society s 
operations annually published, to incite the British 
public to view that corporation as the safest depo- 
sitory for their charitable contributions towards 
the propagation of the gospel in Foreign Parts.*" 
Alas ! my Lord, methinks I hear you say, with 

** A dire dilemma, either way Tm sped." 

Your Lordship has totally failed in your endea- 
vours to cover the transactions of Archdeacon Pott, 
relative to the hush money. Your Lordship is well 
aware of the very many fruitless efforts I have 
made, both personally and by writing, to obtain an 
interview with the Society, to communicate impor- 
tant particulars relating to the mismanagement of 
the church affairs in America, and to obtain satisfac- 
tion for the wrongs and injuries I have received. 
Understanding that Archdeacon Pott is constant in 
his attendance at the Society's meetings, I called 
on him on the 2nd March, to urge him to use his 
influence with the Society to admit me to a hear- 
ing on a matter of so much importance to our coun- 

* See the Society's Annual Reports. 



35 

t7'y, our religion^ and myself ; he, however, remained 
unmoved, and informed me that he could not enter 
into a question w^hich had been determined by the 
Society. I then told him that I must appeal to the 
Parliament for redress. I heard nothing more of him 
till Sunday, the 16th March, when I received the fol- 
lowing letter : 

" Vicarage, Kensington^ Sunday, March 16. 

** Rev. Sir, 

** Should you be at leisure, I should be glad 
of a few minutes conversation with you to-morrow, 
if you can meet me at Rivington's, in Waterloo 
Place, about eleven o'clock ; should that be incon- 
venient to you, I should be glad to see you at Ken- 
sington, though it is not easy for me to fix a time, as 
I am called different ways, at this season particularly. 

** I remain, very truly, 

Your faithful Servant, 

(Signed) " T. H. Pott." 

To Rev. a Griffin. 

As the business for which this interview was re- 
quested was not mentioned, it naturally excited my 
curiosity. At the time appointed, I went to Riving- 
ton's ; Archdeacon Pott soon after arrived, and took 
me into the parlour behind the shop, where he told 
me, that, upon reflection, he was well persuaded I 
had been greatly injured ; but he strongly advised 
me not to make a public appeal, as it would not be 
productive of any public good, and it would most 



36 

assuredly be productive of much harm to myself: he 
had the experience of many years on his side, and 
he had known many persons who, after appealing to 
the public, confessed they were sorry for it ; and he 
concluded by offering me from the Society, first 
£50, then £100, if I would remain quiet. I declined 
the offer, and briefly told him that no pecuniary 
offer could compensate for the wrongs and injuries 
I had received ; and that a bribe was offensive in 
a high degree.* 

* In addition to the large tracts of land owned by Bishop Inglis, 
in " Wilmot," arid the adjoining townships, he also is in possession 
of a tract of land in right of his wife, formerly a Miss Cochran, in 
the township of Rawden, where a church and parsonage house has 
been built at the expense of Government and the Society, though, 
according to the report of 1809, " the greater part of the people in 
Rawden do not consider themselves members of the churchy and 
those who do have very lax notions of what the church is" In 
1822, the Rev. Mr. .Hayden, a curate in Ireland, was appointed, by 
the Society, missionary and rector of Rawden, to the great disap- 
pointment of Dr. Cochran, a professor at the College in Nova Sco- 
tia, missionary, &c., who intended this place for one of his sons, 
when of age to receive " holy orders/' it being at a short and conve- 
nient distance from the Doctor's residence. When Mr. Hayden arrived 
at Rawden, Dr. Inglis sent a letter, to inform him that he could not 
be inducted or instituted to that place, on account of the absence of 
Bishop Stanser, then in England, from whom he had lately received 
a letter, intimating that the Society wished him to return home, and 
offered him £50 if he would do so. Mr. Hayden did not attend to 
this information, but took possession of the parsonage in right of 
his appointment by the Society. Innumerable complaints were 
then forwarded against him, which induced the Society to deprive 
him of his salary, and to offer him £50 for his passage to Ireland. 
Mr. Hayden refused to quit, and demanded the Society's reasons 



37 

The Bishop of London talks about **my offer to 
make apology for" what he has pleased to term, ** my 
errors/' This is altogether a mistake ; before I can 
be convinced of my errors, if I have committed any, 
I must be allow^ed *' to ansv^er for myself, touching 
those things whereof I am accused." As the case 
now stands, 1 look to his Lordship and the Society 
for apologies — for justice, for redress, and satisfac- 
tion for the wrongs and injuries he and they have 
heaped upon me, in one continued chain of oppres- 
sion ; one injury defended by a second, and this by 
a third ; and so on, ad infinitum. I beg leave to re- 
mind your Lordships, that I sent my petition to Lord 
King, on Wednesday, 12 th March. I waited on his 
Lordship on Friday, the 14th March, when he told 
me he should present it to the House of Lords on 
Tuesday, the 1 8th; but, in order that it might not 

for dismissing him. They replied that *' the continuance of ike 
salary must be deemed altogether dependent upon the will of the 
Society guided as that will ever has, and will be, upon the circum- 
stances of the case,'* and concluded by offering him ^150 if he 
would quit the parsonage. Mr. Cochran being then just come of 
canonical age, was ordained both Deacon and Priest, within the 
space of one week, and his expenses to and from the Bishop were 
paid by the Society, and he was sent to dispossess Mr. Hayden. 
Mr. Hayden refused to quit, and sent to the Society that he had 
been at great expense for repairs. The Society gave him another 
£50, and the offer of another £100 to be paid him on his arrival in 
Ireland ; but he still remains in Nova Scotia. Mr. Cochran has 
made two visits to the United States since his ordination, and ap- 
pears to enjoy himself right well with the Society's salary of £200. 
Is all this bribery — ** compassion,'^ — or waste of money? 



38 

come upon the Bishops, unawares, he should make 
no secret of his intention. It was pretty generally 
known about London, on Saturday, that it would be 
presented to the Parliament on the 18th. On Sun- 
day, the 16th, I received the letter from Archdeacon 
Pott, above alluded to, appointing an interview on 
Monday, the 17th. This enumeration of dates will 
speak for itself, and be more satisfactory than thou- 
sands of words in explanation. 

Having far exceeded the limits I prescribed my- 
self, I must reserve the further refutation of your 
Lordships' attempts (as reported in the newspapers) 
to malign my character, in order to defend a posi- 
tive waste of public money by the Society, which 
enables a favored few in the Colonies to ride in their 
carriages, when thousands in England are perishing 
for the want of bread to eat, for a future communica- 
tion; I cannot, however, refrain from making this one 
additional remark, that if, according to the Bishop 
of London, 20C/. per annum is but barely sufficient 
to provide the necessaries of life, for a clergyman in 
those Colonies, the cruelty of the Society towards 
me is abundantly manifested, in their compelling me 
to build a house, to repair a house, io remove from place 
to place, and often to bear the rents of several houses 
at a time, all, all, at my own expense, when all the 
other missionaries are allowed their travelling ex- 
penses in full, and, in many cases, receive grants 
for building and repairing their houses. And Bishop 
Inglis, who has a salary of 2000/. from the taxes, and 
400/. from the Society, is allowed 150/. more from the 



39 

taxes, for travelling expenses ; when, according to 
his own report, ''he is conveyed by sea in King's 
ships, and the gentry provide abundance of carriages 
for his conveyance on land."* 

The time would fail me, to give a detailed account 
of all the corruptions that exist in the Colonies, and 
of all the wrongs and injuries I have sustained from 
my ecclesiastical persecutors, who ought to have 
been my protectors, in a land, where according to 
the declaration of the Society, " the missionaries 
are often placed under peculiar difficulties, from the 
circumstances of the country, and the manners and 
habits of the population /"f and where, according to 
Earl Bathurst, ** it is impossible to reside, without 
being composed to public or private animosity ''X 

Enough, however, is now before the British Par- 
liament and the British Public, in my petition, and 
in this Letter, to shew that there is *' a marvellous 

* In the Report of the Society for 1826, page 39, the Bishop of 
Nova Scotia's visitation is described *' as a long^ laborious, and 
'perilous undertaking." The English reader should be informed, 
that, in these labours, he was accompanied with the whole of his 
family, including children of five or six years of age. 

The only expense he incurred in these visitations, was the charge 
for his passage in a steam vessel to and from St. Andrew's, to stop 
the course of justice; and, if he had been unaccompanied with his 
family, would have cost him only two guineas, for which he receives 
£150 for traveUing expenses. In the Colonial Office there hangs a 
scale of allowances to Captains of his Majesty's ships, for the con- 
veyance of such noble passengers. 

t See Report of the Society for 1823, page 161. 

t See his Lordship's speech in the House of Lords, May, 1827. 



40 

perversion of judgment and justice in the provinces," 
and the mischievous tendency of propagating the 
gospel by means of taxes, in Colonies where ''jus- 
tice stands afar off," where *' truth is fallen in the 
street," where " equity cannot enter," where *' truth 
faileth altogether," and *' he that departeth from evil 
maketh himself a prey, or is accounted mad;" 
where ** on the side of the oppressors there was 
power ;" therefore " I had no comforter." 

My character can stand the test of millions ; this is 
not a vain boast. I have come, my Lords, into the 
highest court of the United Kingdom, and there 
were none who could testify aught against me, 
except that I have felt* the injuries that have been 
heaped upon me. Standing then as I do, with ** clean 
hands," and I trust with a pure heart, in the sight 
of God, before the Imperial Parliament of Great Bri- 
tain and Ireland, I trust that my petition, contain- 
ing matter of such manifest importance to the British 
nation, will not be thrust aside on the mere ipse 
dixit of Mr. Wilmot Horton, as a thing of too con- 

* The following is a sample of the losses that I sustained after 
deprivation of my salary, by the sale of my effects in order to re- 
turn to England : The Land, House, and Offices, in the uninhabited 
forest sold for £5 : 13s : 4d.; digging the well alone cost £8 : 8s ; 
articles of furniture, which cost £8, sold for sixteen shillings ; books 
which cost £7 : 4s., sold for £1 : 7s. ; ditto, cost £2 : 2s. sold for 
2s : 6d., the losses on other articles in similar proportions. There 
is a small wreck of property yet remaining to me in England, which 
1 sincerely trust may not be burdened with additional taxes, to ex- 
port the people from the mother country to cultivate the estates of 
the possessors of large grants of land in the Colonies. 



41 

temptible a nature to be noticed. My petition is 
gone forth into the world, and cannot now be '* hid 
under a bushel ;" and I fervently hope and trust, that 
your Lordships' thus reminded, and the whole House 
of Lords, with the Commons in Parliament assembled, 
in their great wisdom, will not only relieve this coun- 
try from the wasteful expenditure of the taxes, by the 
Society for the propagation of the gospel, but take 
effectual measures to secure, to the subjects of his 
Majesty, impartial administration of justice from 
one end of the dominions of the British crown, 
unto the other ; and to condescend to extend to me, 
also, an humble individual, yet a loyal subject, and 
a clergyman of the realm, '* rightly and canonically 
ordained," of untainted character, protection from 
the persecutions of those ** who have fought against 
me without a cause,'' and who have assumed to them- 
selves an illegal and an unholy power of dispensing 
with the laws of the land, and the obligation of the 
gospel ; that, under such powerful defenders, I may 
rest secure from evil, *' until this tyranny be over- 
past.'' 

With profound respect, 

I remain. 

My Lords, 

Your most obedient humble servant, 

C. GRIFFIN. 



LONDON : 

Printed by Anne Maurice, Fenchurch-Street. 






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